The government will hold discussions with the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) authorities and the Tantri (chief priest) of the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple on Thursday on the latter’s views on entry of pilgrims to the temple, Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran has said. He told reporters here on Wednesday that the government was not keen on forcing the faithful to frequent temples, but the decision to reopen them on easing the lockdown curbs was made on the basis of the Central government decision and the demand from certain Opposition leaders. The government was against crowding in public places.The pilgrims would have to furnish a certificate that they were not infected with SARS-CoV-2. Virtual queue had been introduced and hence pilgrims would have to update the medical certificate in advance for darshan, he said.

Source: The Hindu June 10, 2020 18:11 UTC